# Brewing my first Home Brew this weekend!!!



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

A friend and I are brewing a Nut Brown Ale...I'm so happy!!!! This is a first for me.:ss


----------



## Prefy (Mar 6, 2007)

I love home brew, i usta steal my dads and supply my friends. He made so much and was always brewing different kinds, he never realised that I was taking it:r .

HAVE FUN!


----------



## cmiller (Sep 8, 2005)

Welcome to a great hobby! Your probably already aware of this but I'll say it anyway, the single most important thing to turning out a great beer is sanitization. Anything that is going to touch the wort after the boil must be sanitary. Almost anything you brew will at least be drinkable if you avoid contamination.

That said, are you leaping into all grain right off the bat or doing an extract batch?

howtobrew.com is an exclent resource for the beginning home brewer. I refered to it many time for my first several batches.


----------



## gvarsity (Dec 12, 2006)

Congratulations. There is a real satisfaction to drinking a beer you brewed yourself.


----------



## Warhorse545 (Oct 16, 2005)

About dang time. And watch it close, you DO NOT WANT A BOIL OVER.



Trust me on this. :cb 


Stacey


----------



## newcigarz (Feb 11, 2007)

Good Luck, Let us know how it turns out. :ss


----------



## Hydrated (Aug 9, 2006)

Warhorse545 said:


> About dang time. And watch it close, you DO NOT WANT A BOIL OVER.


Can you say "Molasses Flavored Concrete"?


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

OK, here is an update,

yesterday we started the process.....

the stuff...the grains,malts,hops.  The 'lil ones..... boiling the mash,after 60 minutes,the hop pellets,hops and finishing hops....


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

checking the % and cooling 
EAT 'LIL ones!!! EAT!!!
My buddy called me and said our "creation" was bubbling nicely..YEA!!!!!


----------



## john51277 (Feb 27, 2007)

mikey202 said:


> OK, here is an update,
> 
> yesterday we started the process.....
> 
> the stuff...the grains,malts,hops.  The 'lil ones..... boiling the mash,after 60 minutes,the hop pellets,hops and finishing hops....


That water level had to produce a boil over. It only had like an inch to go, I bet there is a nice sticky spot on the driveway huh????


----------



## newcigarz (Feb 11, 2007)

mikey202 said:


> checking the % and cooling
> EAT 'LIL ones!!! EAT!!!
> My buddy called me and said our "creation" was bubbling nicely..YEA!!!!!


Looking Good!!:tu


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

Yummy!!! Paws the Brew dog is happy!!!
Transfering to the carboy Sit and wait again...


----------



## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

Was that a 5 or 6.5 gallon carboy? Oh and just a word of advice be careful setting those on a cement or tile floor I always set mine on a collapsed cardboard box. The I've heard some horror stories of people setting them down and them breaking. The one guy ended up with some nice stitches in his leg.


----------



## gvarsity (Dec 12, 2006)

Great pics can't wait to hear your beer review.


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

Well...I'm at the point of no return on a new hobby. My wife said,"You won't do the regular dishes, but you'll wash 45 beer bottles and not complain!!!":r 

Note to all you homebrewers, Flying Dog Brewery uses some kind of superglue on their labels. This is a prep wash that I did on these bottles to knock of the dust,mold from the inside, labels,ect.
I have 23 nice 16oz german beer bottles and about 14 other 12oz and 1 20oz.

So, hopefully we'll bottle in the next day or so. :ss :tu :al


----------



## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

mikey202 said:


> Well...I'm at the point of no return on a new hobby. My wife said,"You won't do the regular dishes, but you'll wash 45 beer bottles and not complain!!!":r
> 
> Note to all you homebrewers, Flying Dog Brewery uses some kind of superglue on their labels. This is a prep wash that I did on these bottles to knock of the dust,mold from the inside, labels,ect.
> I have 23 nice 16oz german beer bottles and about 14 other 12oz and 1 20oz.
> ...


The best way I've found to take labels off is to let them soak 12-24 hours in the utility tub downstairs in hot water and a maybe 2 cups of bleach. Sometimes there will be labels floating on top of the water by that point. Or I am just lazy and leave the original labels on them and just fill 'em up.


----------



## Badkarma (May 26, 2006)

And you think cigars and pipes are a slippery slope!!!!!!!!!!!

Been brewing for 15 years. You cant buy beer better than you can make. If you need any recipes let me know. 

I do have one word of advice: Move to a kegging system as soon as you can afford it. It'll save so much time and effort you wont believe it.

Happy brewing!!


----------



## nortmand (Jul 28, 2006)

mikey202 said:


> I have 23 nice 16oz german beer bottles and about 14 other 12oz and 1 20oz.


I don't even bother saving any bottles smaller than bombers anymore. Especially now that I'm kegging about half of my beer!


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

We bottled the brew on Thursday and I will pop the first one on the 21st of this month for a taste test.


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

Well.. I couldn't wait. I popped one for and early taste test and to make sure it carbonated. All went well!!!! :ss

It still tasted a little "green" but it definatly is a keeper,this should mellow with some more time? It had a very nice hoppy kick and a clean finish...no sour taste..thank you Brew Gods.:tu

here is a picture....


----------



## ky toker (Jun 2, 2005)

Looks good, now just let them sit like their supposed to. :r 

Congrats on your first batch. Liked the pics, too.


----------



## piperman (Sep 8, 2005)

I've tried a couple of times, but my always taste like wine, what am I doing wrong.


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

piperman said:


> I've tried a couple of times, but my always taste like wine, what am I doing wrong.


maybe it is souring? Maybe it is getting contaminated somewhere in the process?


----------



## hooperjetcar (Dec 14, 2006)

piperman said:


> I've tried a couple of times, but my always taste like wine, what am I doing wrong.


Hard to answer without knowing what you are doing. First, use a proven recipe, then go with fresh ingredients from reputable supplier, next clean and SANITIZE everything, and last, use grains not grapes.


----------



## mikey202 (Dec 29, 2005)

Sorry I never posted a final review for this batch, for those interested.
When compared to Newcastle, my Brown Ale was much better. It had a real good head,nice flavor and a kick-ass hoppy, clean finish to it. The Newcastle actually tasted lacking in flavor after drinking one of these.

Every bottle carbonated, and was perfect. I accidentally dropped one and smashed it, I was sad, sort of like John Belushi in Animal House when they broke that case of bourbon:r. Well, the Brew Gods had to have their share.


----------

